The Colour of Water
by Neiize
Summary: When carefree, teenage life morphs into adulthood, the reality of a world beyond beyblading hits the Bladebreakers hard. With no where to go, Ray is inevitably hit the hardest. KxR
1. Prologue

**Author:** Neiize

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beyblade or anything else that brings in a sufficient amount of money, for that matter. What I do own is the story line and plot that go on in my story and the occasional OC, but that is all. I write for the sake of writing, and nothing more.

**Warning:** Language, Mentions of Drugs, Violence,

**Author's Notes:** Yes, I _am_ alive. With a new thrill of writing, as well. I've come up with a new multi-chapter story idea, after what seems like a lifetime. If there's a good amount of interest shown by reviewers, I'll be certain to continue. Random muses don't mean very much to me if there isn't support behind it.

Sidenote: Hey, have you ever liked a story so much you almost squealed when the author updated after 50 years? ME TOO! That's why the second I'm done typing this up, I'm off to scope out _Translation Error(s)_, by the wonderful Sunshine Cove. And I really think you should, too.

Enjoy.

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**The Colour of Water  
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**Napoleon Dynamite.

Or would ridiculous be the right word? I sighed as the previously mentioned character once _again_ slurred _"gosh!"_ for the hundredth time. My eyes slid closed as I imagined myself somewhere else. On a sofa, maybe, curled up with a fresh copy of _Atonement_ and a nice cup of herbal tea. Before I could even get more in depth, my illusions literally shattered in my mind as the roaring of my friend's laughter took over.

"This is the greatest movie. Ever," Tyson, the clever yet mischievous daredevil of our group spoke mater-of-factly.

"_Superbad_ was better," the ever bubbly Max disagreed.

"What about _Knocked Up_? That's a classic!" Daichi's scratchy but hearty voice, ever-so like he himself, was full of amusement and joy.

"Agreed."

Tyson snorted. "It's been out, for like, 2 weeks-"

"A year!" Daichi countered.

"-and it's made like, a total of three bucks-"

"Two hundred and nineteen million," Max corrected, his vast movie trivia coming in handy.

"-and the main chick wasn't even that hot."

"Yeah, 'cause Napoleon Dynamite's a real looker." Max quipped sarcastically.

"What the heck are you talking about, Max? He's as ugly as Tyson in the morning."

"He was being sarcastic, you idio- hey!" Tyson roared, causing him to choke on the popcorn he was devouring. After a few hard coughs, he choked out a hard, round popcorn kernel, which ricocheted into Tyson's grandmother's famous vase. Which, might I add, Tyson was extremely protective of. It broke into a million pieces, and landed with an audible crackle into the fire underneath, seeing as it was resting on the mantle of the fireplace.

The expression on Tyson's face was a cross between constipation and that of watching your beloved dog being run over by a 16-wheeler.

With a brief glace towards one another, Max and Daichi burst out into laughter. I watched on in amusement and grief for Tyson as he stared at the shards of his beloved heirloom being digested by the magnificent fire. Tears rolled down Daichi's face from laughing so hard as I put down my hardly-touched bowl of popcorn and patted Tyson on the shoulder.

"It's okay, it was an accident," I comforted.

He opened and closed his mouth numerous times, doing an impeccable impression of a fish, trying to respond to my words of sympathy. Unexpectedly, his mouth pressed into a hard line at the same time his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"You bastard!" Tyson cried before he lunged into Daichi with enough force to break a bone.

Between fighting Tyson's punches and his belches into his face, Daichi managed, "What the hell did I do? You're the one who broke it!"

"Shut up and take your punishment like a man!" Tyson yelled as he stuffed his dirty sock into Daichi's mouth.

Max was rolling on the floor, holding his stomach, roaring with laughter.

I was halfway down the upstairs hallway before the noises of shouting and booming laughter faded away, and eventually ceased. Though they were great friends and smart guys, sometimes you'd think talking with chimpanzees would be more logical. Tyson and Daichi broke into meaningless brawls often, and Max wasn't exactly a peacekeeper. Either he was in the background throwing pebbles at the two chanting "fight, fight, fight!", or laughing so hard he swallowed his own tonsils.

I was smiling as I entered my tiny yet cozy bedroom. Even with their occasional idiocy counted against them, they were still able to make me love them like brothers.

_Talk about being whipped_, I thought to myself as I emerged from my closest, wearing my fuzziest pajamas. A slight grimace pulled down the corners of my thin lips as I was faced with a slight problem. Simply put, there was nothing to do. The dishes were washed, the dojo was vacuumed, the bills paid, and so on.

The grimace disappeared and was replaced by a hopeful smile as I dug into the small shelf of my bedside table with excitement. I pulled out my tattered copy of _For One More Day _and flipped to the two pages where my bookmark lay beneath.

Though it was an absurdly small book, I had never been able to finish it with all the chores that were put upon my shoulders. For once, it seemed like my hectic life had given me a much needed break. I was glad that I finally had some time to finish the mini-masterpiece. The quant and emotional writing of the book had hooked me from just the summary, and I was deeply rooted into it by the first three chapters.

I was well past the hundred page mark when a soft knock on the door pulled me away from the grip of the compelling and deviously clever print. A blinked a few times and rubbed my tired eyes. "Come in," I called loudly enough for the knocker to hear.

I didn't have to look up to know the owner of the near-silent footsteps and silky voice. "If you were busy, I can come back another time. I don't want to bug you."

"Of course not," I smiled kindly. It was rare to find me without some kind of smile on my face. "Sit down. I haven't seen you all day,"

"Yeah," Kai sighed as he set himself down on the foot of my twin sized bed. The mattress creaked audibly. "I was busy. Taking care of stuff for back home. I fucking hate it. I'm not cut out to be some bullshit heir of some huge Russian company I couldn't give two shits about."

I winced. Kai had a bad habit of swearing like a drunken sailor. It was a pet peeve of mine, which he respected. Usually, he tried his best to bite his tongue. The fact that he wasn't today must have meant there was more beneath the surface he was worried about. "Is there a lot of paperwork?"

"Mhm," he moaned. The stress was evident just by taking a look at him. His forehead was creased so much that it looked like he'd been working non-stop for 100 years, not one day. The hunching of his shoulders was peculiar, like he was expecting to rebuff at any moment, but never did. "A lot of calls, a lot of acting fake and a lot of laughing at stupid jokes, a lot of taxes, a lot of bullshit, bullshit, bullshit." He listed, his voice getting angrier by the second.

I was frowning by now, too. I had a bad habit of sponging up the atmosphere around me, which heavily included the emotion. I could feel the stress of an unwanted life stinging at my neck, fumbling with my brow, tugging at the corners of my lips. "Isn't there a way out of this?"

"Besides renouncing my family name? No," he answered. He covered his mouth with a clenched fist as he spoke. "It's a family tradition. The eldest male of the Hiwatari clan always becomes the president of the Enterprises when the former decides to retire, and my father is making a spectacle of retiring on his fiftieth birthday, which is next year. I have to get the training in now so that I'll be prepared to handle everything." His explanation, even though intelligent and plausible, seemed stupid and non-sensical to me.

"Why should you put yourself though this, Kai? The way you speak of your father, I wouldn't think you'd mind renouncing your Hiwatari title." Even as the words left my mouth, I was aware of how biased I sounded. I hadn't met Kai's oafish father, never knew his hound of a mother, his nag of a grandmother. Kai could simply be playing it up for pity's sake, though it sounded very out-of-character of him.

"With the name comes power. I get away with more crap than the President of the United States because of who I am and who my parents are. I can handle it, I know I can." I was about to argue when Kai interrupted me. "Can we stop talking about it? I've had enough of my family for a lifetime. What's going on with you? All we do is talk about my problems."

" I can't complain," I answered with a hint of a smile. "As long as the guys are healthy and the house isn't on fire, I'm happy."

Kai had developed a very faint smile of his own while I spoke. "That's what I like about you. You're so carefree; the littlest things can make you happy." The trace of happiness he once held disappeared from his face as he thought about something unbeknownst to me. "I wish I was like that," he murmured exceptionally softly, with no emotion evident in his voice.

"Don't say that," I objected firmly. From the way his eyes darted up to meet mine, I could tell that he hadn't meant for me to hear his quiet mumble. "Everyone is different from one another. You're the person you are because of the experiences you were put through to get there. Regretting what you've become over your joy and hardships is like slapping God in the face."

He was calm again with a cocky smile as he lay down across my bed. "Only you can say stuff like that without making it sound corny, Ray,"

"Thank you," I replied warmly.

Before I could continue, an excessively loud siren and various crashing noises caught my attention. My head whipped painfully behind me, to where the sounds of danger were coming from. I quickly felt the uneasiness in my abdomen area. Not once in the two years I lived here have I seen any police cars, ambulances, or fire trucks, let alone witnessed them in action. In Japan, the crime rate is relatively low, with not even the hint of police being called on account of a noisy party happening down the block. Only for serious crimes have there been any trace of the authorities, and that's just a very seldom stroll down the street. If there were sirens, lights, and other uncharacteristic elements, it could only mean one thing: danger. And a very high dose of it.

When I turned to look at Kai, I could see the exact same knowledge flashing through his eyes.

"Oh no," Feeling a nauseating mix of fear and despair knotting inside of my stomach, I gripped onto the metal ledge of my bed's headrest for support. I had never been the one to be called upon in serious situations, for very reasons such as this one. My emotions always got the better of me, and my intelligence always rushed ahead to very logical, frightening outcomes, which only further incapacitated me.

"Relax," Kai spoke in a quiet, reassuring voice. "It's probably nothing." Even though I could detect the clear lie in his words, I felt still a bit more soothed than before.

"What should we do?" I asked, feeling feeble and helpless. I hated not doing anything in times of need; for some unknown reason, it made me feel guilty.

"Check it out," Kai responded, holding my bedroom door open, waiting for me to follow. I nearly dashed out of the bed and nervously walked behind him as we headed downstairs. Once we got there, we found Daichi, Tyson and Max huddled around the large and ornate living room window. The television was off and popcorn was scattered all over the floor. My worry for the current situation at hand kept me from lecturing them about keeping the floors clean.

"What'dya thinks going on?" Daichi asked, curiosity and a bit of fear colouring his tone. I peered over his head to see police cars and fire trucks parked at the house across the street from us. The cars were all randomly parked on patches on the grass, indicating a fearsome quickness, tire marks in the lush greenery.

"Dunno," Max responded simply, with an edge to his voice. Like me, Max wore his emotions on his sleeve. Just by looking at him, you could tell he was more frightened than anything else. Kai and I stood behind them, watching for any signs of movement from across the street. I idly wondered if the three boys crowded in front of us noticed the two of us behind them.

"Maybe," Tyson started in a husky voice, "Ms. Takanaoya's son is getting busted. Once I heard Kai and Ray talking about it. Kai saw him doing drugs," he clued the other two in. He didn't sound so much scared as he was perplexed. I wondered why.

"Kai knows everything," Daichi muttered spitefully, "and he never tells us _anything_."

"He was probably just tryna protect us, dude. Don't be mad at him," Tyson defended his friends like his life depended on it. It was a very noble trait I had always admired him for. Daichi didn't seem to think likewise. He stayed silent, with a brooding expression on his child-like face.

They stayed silent for what seemed like a lifetime as we all stared at the spacious house perched across from ours. I only now discovered that the trio before us hadn't realized Kai and I were standing behind them, only a step away. I found it odd, especially because of Max's habit of being extremely aware of his surroundings. I discovered the quirky trait when we once shared a room during the Chinese tournament. Max hadn't gotten a wink of rest because I tended to fidget while I slept.

"Look," Tyson whispered, his voice suddenly hoarse. From the clock on the adjacent wall I realized we had all been staring at the house for nearly half an hour.

"I don't see anything," Max whispered back, squinting into the darkness.

"Through the window."

"There's a curtain in the way," Daichi pointed out in a way that implied it was obvious.

"There's light _behind_ the curtain. You can see the shadows of people moving." And he was right. You could clearly see three dark silhouettes. The first was a tall, bulky one, with a pointed cap and large hands. That one logically seemed like a police officer, but I wondered why there was only one. There were at least three police cars parked outside.

When the second shadow started moving, it grabbed my attention. This one was slim and petite, and could only be Mrs. Takanaoya. Her movements were stiff and frigid. It was obvious to conclude that the situation happening across the street was not a very pleasant one.

The third shadow was lanky and skinny. It was hard to tell if it was a very slim man or a husky, curve-less woman. The figure stood beside the assumed Mrs. Takanaoya, holding its ground very poorly. Even from such a distance, I could tell it was quivering. Or perhaps the curtain was just shaking, I couldn't be too sure.

Very abruptly, a fourth silhouette came dashing in at an unthinkable speed. It held out a rectangular figure in its hand for the first figure, the policeman, to examine. I noticed quite quickly how stiff the figure's arm was as it held up the flimsy-looking square object; as if it had been the thing their lives depended on.

I had been so preoccupied in studying the body language of the most recent mystery man that I hadn't noticed Ms. Takanaoya's shadow's arms reach up and cover her mouth dramatically, like she was holding back a cry. I didn't notice the tense hunch in the third shadow's shoulders, and I didn't notice more shadows coming in surrounding the whole room, stealthily and unnaturally calm. The extra shadow's bodies were all tense and rigid, like a predator hawking out its prey.

There wasn't enough time to make any sensible conclusions by the time everything registered in my mind.

When the police man walked up to the lanky figure, it swiftly picked up a nearby blunt-looking object and swung it onto the policeman's large form. The extra shadow's arms rose, revealing that they were all clutching onto small, dark objects. Guns. There had to be at least 5 of them. Every shadow in that room was tense, including the struck policeman who was slightly hunched over. An odd, but very soft ripping noise was coming from somewhere I couldn't quite pinpoint. The shaking of one of the gun-clutching arm of the extra's caught my attention, and I guessed that he was giving the lanky figure a warning.

The ripping sound grew when I realized it was too late.

The warning-given figure was about to kick the already damaged policeman in the face, but he suddenly fell to the ground.

Mrs. Takanaoya's ear-piercing scream was the first sound I had heard in ten minutes.

Only after the shadows had picked up the hurt policeman and the lanky body had I realized a bullet had pierced through him, rendering him helpless. Only after Kai pointed out that the little rectangular object was most probably a baggie full of cocaine, had I realized that the rumors were true. Only after everyone had left, after the other policemen dismissed people from the neighborhood who had come running when they heard the gun shots and the screams had the sudden image of a vase being sent into its own oblivion reminded me of the scene I had just witnessed.

Only after Kai started shaking my body had I realized I was in hysterics.

"Ray! Get a hold of yourself!" He commanded, but my mind has seemed scattered at the moment. The only thing I could think of was the vase, breaking into a million pieces. Of the man, the man I had seen the ambulances taking into their car, falling to the ground so listlessly. The two images shook me to my very core.

"Ray? Ray!" Max's alarmed voice sounded unnaturally quiet. The ripping noise, it was still there, and it was silencing almost everything else.

"Max, go get a blanket and some pillows. Daichi? Cold water and a towel. Tyson, help me calm him down. He's in hysterics." Even though the tearing noise was still prominent, I could tell Kai's voice was calm and in charge.

I didn't see if Max and Daichi did what they were told, because Kai was calmly leading me to the spacious couch in the very room, with Tyson close behind him. The tearing noise grew louder when I suddenly fell to my knees, clutching onto myself, as if to hold my body together. I stayed there for several minutes.

A cold slap to my face hushed not only the ripping, but every other noise in the house.

The room was dead silent for a good five seconds. I felt my eyes bug open, saw Max and Daichi's body come to a total standstill. I was suddenly aware of the cold tears stinging my face, my whole body quivering from a lack of warmth. My head was still angled oddly from the impact of skin to skin, so I slowly turned my head back to face Kai. From the look on his face, I could tell he thought I had gone insane. The silence stretched forward until I was finally able to find my voice.

"…Kai?" My voice cracked on the simple one-syllable word.

He took the small towel that had suddenly appeared on the floor beside him, dipped it in the bowl that had also just made its debut, and pressed it gingerly to my forehead.

"That scared the crap out of you, didn't it?" his tense eyes softened significantly as a single tear slid down my cheek. My throat felt like it was dissected, and I wasn't up to swallowing the lump that had formed. So I just nodded pathetically.

I let my head fall, so that my bangs covered my face. I was ashamed and embarrassed of displaying so much emotion.

"You guys can go to sleep now." It wasn't a demand; just a suggestion. Kai sounded strained and tired. On top of all the horrible things he already has to deal with, I just have to have a break down. _Great job, Kon_ my internal monologue practically spat in disgust.

"But…" Tyson trailed off.

"Just do it,okay? I'll handle him,"

After a pause, Tyson managed, "Okay."

I heard three pairs of footsteps creep up the stairs, but couldn't see them. I was still hanging my head in shame.

"I only slapped you to bring you to yours senses," Kai exaggerated the words as if he were talking to a mentally unstable child. "Don't take it personally."

I didn't even register what Kai had said. I just stayed perfectly still, and only until there was complete silence, I managed to lift myself off of my knees. I walked wordlessly towards the stairs myself, but I heard the swift movement of Kai's steps behind me. If I hadn't known him for years, his walk would have been undetectable to me.

I slammed myself onto my bed and sprawled under the covers, making sure they covered my face. Kai had followed me into the room, and I could sense him standing over me, staring.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" his voice was all business, no emotion.

"No." I sounded as if I had cotton stuffed down my throat.

Without a word, I felt his towering figure leave the head of my bed and close the door quietly behind him.

I laid in bed for at least an hour, completely calm and in control.

Two minutes later, I started sobbing uncontrollably.  


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Read and Review, please.


	2. Runaway

**Author:** Neiize

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beyblade or anything else that brings in a sufficient amount of money, for that matter. What I do own is the story line and plot that go on in my story and the occasional OC, but that is all. I write for the sake of writing, and nothing more.

**Warning:** None

**Author's Notes:** None

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_And oh I know you best,  
I know you get what you get,  
You get what you deserve.  
_

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_  
_

"So you're _sure_ you're okay?"

I sighed as Tyson repeated the aforementioned phrase for God knows how many times. I set down the dish I was scrubbing along with the cloth, shut off the water, wiped my hands, and placed them firmly on Tyson's shoulder for more of an effect.

"I am positively, absolutely, undoubtedly, certainly, unequivocally, without question doing _superbly_."

Tyson stared at me as if I had spoken Arabic.

He closed his slightly agape mouth before he respond with, "So you're_ sure_ you're okay?"

My head hung slightly as I groaned from frustration. I decided to dumb down my answer. "Yes, Tyson, I'm fine."

"Why the hell didn't you say that sooner?" He asked with a cheeky grin while he slapped my back and headed towards the dining room table to presumably lick off the remnants of the maple syrup on his plate.

"Don't freak out anymore, Ray. That was creepy as hell," Max said, trying to sound indifferent, but concern underlay his words.

"I make no promises," I said with a slight smile, keeping my eyes and hands busy on the dish I was working on. "Who knows, one day I might find one of my Jane Austins' ripped on the floor and kill the one of you closest to me." I had an amused smile on my face, awaiting the sounds and look of laughter. When I looked up, my expression dropped.

"Why aren't you laughing?"

Silence.

"Oh, come on!" I objected, now cleaning a stained pot. "That one at least deserved a giggle."

"…teehee." Daichi said in a way that sounded more like a question, which caused all four of us to chuckle.

"You have your moments, Ray." Tyson assured before heading out to the living room, plate licked, probably to watch some television.

Daichi exaggerated his nod, as if his assurance would take some unknown weight off of my shoulders and followed Tyson. I rolled my eyes. _I feel much better now, _I thought sarcastically.

There was a comfortable silence while I worked and Max ate his pancakes with care, chewing each bite carefully. He seemed lost in thoughts, but then again, so was I. It seemed that nowadays I couldn't stop but ponder all the minute little annoyances of life.

"Ray?" I looked up and quickly stopped my work and train of thought, staring at Max with concern. The tone of his voice gave me that parental shockwave that ran through the back of my neck when something was wrong. Did he want to discuss something serious? Is that why he looked so and sounded so…upset?

"Yes, Max?" I could hear the fear and anxiously in my voice, mirroring his.

He hesitated before he answered. "….You sure you're alright?"

My tense composure quickly dropped when I heard the cause of his distress and smiled in relief. "Of course I am. Is that what you're so worried about? Relax, I'm completely fine." I frowned before adding, "You're becoming more and more like Tyson everyday."

He laughed at the change in my facial expression, and I could hear his previous concerns slightly melt away. There was still an edge to his usually carefree laughter. "Let's not kick me while I'm down, Ray."

He smiled for a bit longer, and then it slowly morphed into the distraught expression I was waiting for. "I don't really wanna…. bug you about it, you know? But…. do you maybe know why you reacted that way? I've never seen you _that_ freaked in all the years we've been friends."

Before I could take a breath, I answered, reassurance colouring my voice. "No, I don't know why. And I'm not really worried about it either. It was probably just because of the stresses of my pitiful life. You know, fighting with the dust bunnies at the back of the couch, attempting to kill the thing living under Tyson's bed that always eats the wooden end of the broom I hit it with, and so on."

Max stared at me with his eyebrows raised.

I stared back childishly. "What?"

"Hey, it never hurt_ you_!" Tyson's voice could faintly be heard echoing from the living room.

I jumped when Max suddenly burst out into laughter. I registered somewhere in my mind that Tyson was eavesdropping, and that meant Daichi, too, which all together meant they were still absurdly worried for me. I frowned angrily, and tried to ignore them and my rampaging thoughts. Max continued to laugh. Obviously, I didn't share the same sense of humor or concern.

"Good to know you're not a mental case, Ray," Max said with a too-amused smile as he walked out with a thumbs-up. In a lot of ways, Max was like me. Even though we both displayed emotion very easily, it was even easier to get both us to forget the source of emotion in the first place.

I had always been very thankful for that.

"Pish posh," I huffed to no one as I picked up and cleaned, soaked, and dried the last dirty cup. After I set it on the dish rack, I turned around to face away from the sink with my cheeks puffed out.

I vaguely wondered when Kai was planning on making an appearance. I hope he didn't forget what today was. Although, knowing him, I'd think he'd rather just pretend he didn't remember than admit he did.

I stole an impatient glance at the clock behind me, facing the sink again. A quarter to one.

I stared at the ceiling in the quiet, uneventful room, thinking. Did he leave the house before I noticed? I frowned. No, he couldn't have. I was up at five. Not that I had been able to fall asleep to get a lot of it, but I still should have noticed.

I sighed nosily as I hunched over the counter, picking up a nearby apple from a fruit bowl I had prepared and took a bite. I'd never had much of an appetite, but for some strange reason I felt like taking a bite of something hard and crunchy. I savored the flavors on my tongue for a bit, stopped chewing, and swallowed. My thoughts wandered, as they usually did when I had nothing else to do.

The day before yesterday, Hiro and Tyson's grandfather had called from nearby Singapore. They've been there for about a year now, on exclusive beyblade business. After the guys and I had officially retired from our long-famed sport, Hiro'd been itching to get back to it. And with his youngest responsibility properly pampered and ready to venture off into the world, Grandpa felt a bit unneeded. I absent mindedly took another bite of my apple.

To them, the solution was simple. Hiro himself was a blading genius with a fire for it that never seemed to die out, and Grandpa had a great sense of adaptability and even better martial arts methods. After proposing the idea to Mr. Dickinson, they teamed up and scoured all around eastern to southern Asia in newly built BBA training academies, where kids could come and learn the basics, tricky, and advanced stuff all within the span of a couple of years. Hiro would teach, Grandpa would physically train, and other hired professionals would do all the in betweens. It was perfect,

It was also pretty pricey, but most of the students who signed up were from richer families. That was how we all managed to stay in this house without any of us going into the workforce.

Of course we were lucky enough that Tyson wasn't out in Singapore himself right now. My mind clicked as I realized the source of my distress, and I sighed.

Recently, Mr. Dickinson had pitched this amazing offer to Tyson; quit your school, leave behind the education you never wanted or needed, and travel with your family and train these amazingly talented kids. You could see the lust in Tyson's eyes the second the words were out of the older man's mouth.

Still, he has given Mr. D a prompt no. He wanted to spend more time with the rest of us, and he still wanted to be a loathsome little teenager for a while before he headed back into the word of fame and admiration. Why? I had absolutely no idea.

The mishap was that Mr. Dickinson had drawn up a contract and all the legalities, assuming that Tyson would say 'yes', which any sane-minded person would have. Of course, the whole shebang happened right before out eyes, so someone could hypothesize that Tyson had said no out of courtesy for his friends.

That person's hypothesis would be squashed in a second if they had let their eyes slip to the contract and catch the six-figure yearly income. Even the friend-loving Tyson would kick his best pals to the curb for those kinds of numbers.

"Hey, Kai-Man!" I heard the source of my peeved mind yell too loudly from the living room, breaking me out of my thoughts. I placed the barely eaten apple in my hand down on the counter uncharacteristically. I sighed with amusement and sympathy for Kai. Even the wildlife around the house knew how much he hated Tyson and Daichi's weekly nicknaming rituals.

"One more time, Tyson. Call me that one more time."

"…. Sorry, Kai."

My smirk threatened to turn into laughter while I headed towards the crowded room. No one could scare the living daylights out of you like Kai.

I poked my head through the large, ornately decorated door and smiled perkily.

"Hey, Ray," Kai greeted wearily as he there his car keys into the bowl on the back table. So, he did go out…

I moved myself directly in front of Kai the moment he tried to dash into the kitchen. He cut short abruptly, staring at me. We were still in the living room. "Good morn-" I remembered it was almost one, "afternoon, Kai."

I smiled, big and wide.

He cocked an eyebrow at my peculiar behavior. "Hi," he said flatly.

"How's everything?" I asked, still blocking his way. By now, Max, Tyson and Daichi had all taken to staring at the scene in front of them. All three seemed confused, but there was a hint of wickedness to Tyson's expression. I wondered if he knew what was going on, or if he just enjoyed seeing Kai muddled.

"….Fine." It sounded more like a question.

"Anything important happening today?" I asked, cutting to the chase subtly.

I saw the slight comprehension in his expression before he answered. "No, nothing in particular," he responded too-innocently. My smile grew. So he was going to play dumb, was he?

"Is that so?" I asked, my voice contradicting. "Well, I think the guys would be pretty happy to know-"

"Stop."

I smirked when I heard the almost undetectable plea in his voice. "I'd rather not,"

"I said _stop_, Ray."

"Make me." Even though Kai's words made him sound like he was arguing against being forced to down a jug full of Buckley's, I sounded like a giddy child in Disneyland. The strange contrast made me smile at the end of reach remark.

"What's going on?" Tyson asked, amused. "What'd Kai do?"

"Nothing," Kai and I replied at the same time. He hissed, I dismissed.

Max looked slightly weary. I assumed he was trying to figure it out himself, but with no luck. "Tell us."

"Yeah!" Daichi agreed, his expression the same as Max's. "Please?"

"Well, since-"

"Ray." He was glaring daggers at me, but I continued as If I didn't hear him.

"-you asked so nicely, I'd be happy to oblige. You see-"

"Hey, wait a minute…" Tyson interrupted, then trailed off, his composure suddenly a little sullen and disbelieving. It marveled at me how Tyson had the uncanny ability to catch attention like a slowly thrown baseball.

When he didn't continue, Kai's eyebrows furrowed in frustration instead of annoyance. Even he wasn't susceptible to Tyson's remarkable power. "What?"

"Well," Tyson started, his voice completely changing. Now he sounded matter-of-factly, as if he was trying to sell us an amazing yet very overpriced miracle product. "You know how you've been not around a lot lately?"

"Yeah?" Max prompted before Kai could even open his mouth. He glared at the blonde.

Tyson continued with an educated nod. "And you know how Kai usually comes home really late at night or early in the morning?"

"Uh huh…." Daichi said, sounding confused.

"And how when he actually is home, he's always locked up in his room, doing important 'Russian' business, doing important Russian 'taxes'?" He did the air-quotes while he spoke.

The others hadn't moved, but Kai was sitting down on the loveseat by himself now, with his legs crossed and one hand supporting his face. The other, a balled fist. "What the hell are you talking about, Tyson?"

"Kai," Tyson said, concern burning in his eyes. If he were close enough, I could picture him putting his hand on Kai's shoulder in a comforting way. "There no easy way to say this but…" He hesitated before blurting out in a completely guy-like manner, "Did you knock some chick up?"

My smiley composure dropped into that of shock. My jaw hung open, and Daichi and Max's eyes widened to the point of nearly popping out of their sockets. Within a second I was submerged into complete amusement. I felt a laugh bubble at my throat, but obediently held it back.

Kai merely pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. "You're so stupid it should be illegal."

"Is that a no?" Tyson asked dismally.

Kai nodded, still pinching his nose.

"Damn it!" Tyson exclaimed rather suddenly and loudly, causing all of us to flinch. "It sounded so right, too!" He slapped his thigh in defeat. His eyes darted to mine. "I give up. What's going on?"

"Um," I stuttered, amused. I was a bit disoriented. The conversation had taken a completely different turn than I had expected.

I stood there for a while, swaying on the balls of my feet, until it hit me. My eyes popped in realization. "Oh!"

"_What_?" Daichi groaned, exaggerating the word.

I smiled even wider, and then disappeared from the room in a flash. I heard a brief "Hey!" behind me, but I barely registered it as I opened up the cabinet in the kitchen no one touched but me, and pulled out the familiar parcel with satisfaction. I skipped back into the room with the big package in my hand.

I'm pretty sure the huge wrapped present, obscenely large bow, and my goofy smile gave it away. But, I still had to say it as I walked over and stopped in front of Kai, outstretching my arms to place the box right in front of his nose. "Happy birthday!"

There was a slight pause before someone spoke.

"No way!" Max said, not yelling, but disbelieving. "It's your birthday? How come you didn't tell us?"

Kai just rolled his eyes, but this time had a friendly smile on his face as he took the present from me and set it on his lap.

"What the hell!" Tyson shouted when he punched Kai in the shoulder in a friendly but outraged manner. "Is _that_ it?" He stopped short with a goofy grin on his face. "Whoa, how off was _I_?"

"I didn't get you anything, because I didn't know it was your birthday, Kai, You should've said something!" Max continued as if Tyson hadn't spoke, annoyance obvious by the crease of his brow. I couldn't help but think that this frustrated Max not because Kai was his close friend, but because he had a very strange habit of gluing trivia to his memory. Dates, places, names, times, people, and important events; anything unimportant, he'd always say. This specific instance fell under dates.

"You know what this means, don't ya?" Daichi asked, brushing the tips of his fingers of both hands together, so that they met briefly, left, and then met again. For a moment, he reminded me of that grotesquely old and maniacal _Simpsons_ character.

"We sure do!" Tyson said, matching Daichi's composure perfectly. They looked like a pair of evil puppies.

"Birthday beats!" they exclaimed at the same time, charging at Kai.

The now-eldest of us stood up, authority in his posture. "Enough," he said simply. The two boys stopped in their tracks, laughing and rolling their eyes. They were the only ones talking.

"Kai wears the pants the in the family, Daichi," Tyson announced.

"It's okay, I like skirts better."

Long, awkward pause.

It was only two seconds after that when all of us burst into laughter. Well, Kai was smiling, but that was considered the highest state of merriment for him.

The guys were still talking and grumbling about being uninformed and how I apparently 'knew everything' when I felt something poke my wrist.

I turned to Kai, smiling. He took in my expression, and something in his eyes simmered. "Thank you," he said it purposefully softly, so the others couldn't hear. A very subtle joy was radiating from his body. "Even though I hate accepting presents, looking at this-", he pointed at my gift, "-you probably put a hell of a lot of effort into it."

"And, also, it would be rude not to accept it," I added in a playfully condescending manner, strengthening the argument.

He rolled his eyes, still radiating. "Because I am obviously the king of polite."

I laughed at his sarcasm, enjoying the private little moment between two close friends. Tyson and the others were lost in their conversation. "Are you going to open it?"

"Open it?" He asked, as if the idea was absurd. "Sure, I guess."

I crossed my arms and shook my head. "You don't have much experience with this kind of stuff, do you?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "Not really."

"It's never too late to start. Now come on, rip it to shreds!" I took my gift from his hands and placed it on the floor by his feet, sitting back on my legs, jittering like an excited school girl. He sat down with me, standing on his knees.

By now, the rest of the guys were crowded around us, inquisitive and waiting. Kai stared at the package for a while, before reaching out and slowly undoing the big, decorative bow. With a bit more speed he ripped off a few happy birthday tags, eyelets, embellishments, and press-on-glitter. In all honesty, it had taken me more time to wrap the gift than actually think it up and buy it.

Then his curiosity got the better of him as he impatiently ripped off the attractive wrapping paper and cracked the plain, white box's lid open. He peered inside the box, then smiled genuinely. His hands nimbly undid a locked cage, and then, very gently, he pulled out the incredibly tiny two-month old tabby cat.

When I saw the tranquil, lucidly happy expression on Kai's face, I sighed in relief. I hadn't really known if Kai was an animal person, but with by the way he stroked the tabby's petite belly, scratched behind his ear, and chuckled under his breath, I assumed he was.

"It's a cat…" Daichi trailed off with a surprised smile hanging forming his lips.

Max laughed when he bent over a bit awkwardly and looked straight into the tabby's big, violet eyes. "Hey, little man! You've got you're dad's eyes."

"How do you now it's a he?" Daichi pondered.

Tyson's eyes roamed to the kitten's lower area, and he nodded. "Oh, we know."

All the while, Kai was staring at the little ball of fur. Peacefully. Happily.

"Thank you," he murmured softly, not looking at me. "I have a thing for animals, cats especially. I was thinking about getting one a little while ago. It's like you read my mind." He touched the kitten's pink nose gently, and then smiled when it quickly pawed it's now itchy nose. I had never seen Kai so… joyous. Calm. With his guard down, exposed and….human. "How did you know? I've never told you." He paused as his eyes wandered briefly, then came back to the tabby. A ghost of a grin tugged at his lips. "At least, I don't think I did."

"You didn't," I assured, with a smile of my own. "When we were younger, Mariah had a cat. It wasn't like this one; it was fat, and a Siamese, but it had this strange, relaxing air to it wherever it went. Sometimes, when I was frustrated or stressed, I'd go over to Mariah's house and sit for hours, just stroking his fur, watching him play with yarn. It took my mind off things, at least for a little while." I looked at the new, unnamed member of our family as I spoke, then finally to Kai. He was staring straight at me. "I thought it might have the same effect for you."

He stared back down at the creature balled up in his arms, and then back at me, serious this time. "It's not that I'm not… grateful, but animals aren't _cheap_, Ray. And he doesn't look like he came from a two-bit pound." He pointed to his glossy fur, the engraved nametag I had never bothered to look at. After all, I had just bought him this morning, before anyone had woken up.

I shrugged. "I had a little bit saved up, and I figured you deserved something that would help you relax and to keep you company when we're not around. And besides, like Max said, he has your eyes." I rolled my eyes while I said, "It was meant to be."

The little bit I had saved up was actually a little _everything_. The money I used for the tabby was supposed to be spent on a new wardrobe I desperately needed. It wasn't an emergency, though. I knew if Kai were in my situation, he'd do the same for me.

Daichi reached over to touch the cat, but stopped mid-air when Kai glared at him. He frowned defiantly. "I was just gonna check the name tag!"

Kai looked down to the now sleeping bundle in his arms, and gently checked the golden-plated tag himself. "Gabriel," he read aloud.

"Welcome to the family, Gabe," Max greeted softly, careful not to wake him up.

"Wait, this changes _everything_." Tyson interrupted, once again getting all of our focuses, including a calmer Kai. We waited a while, then he spoke. "Who should we give birthday beats to _first_? Kai or Gabe?"

Kai rolled his eyes, giving his attention back to his new pet. "Funny,"

"I try," Tyson said with an accomplished smile.

The rest of the day flew by naturally, flawlessly. Tyson nearly dragged an angry and suspicious Kai out of the house when he announced he was taking him to his birthday dinner, and that he was paying the bill. At first, his reaction confused me, but then when Kai explained that he thought Tyson's plan was to stick a sombrero and a happy-birthday singing staff on him, I understood completely.

Max surprised us by tracking down one of the only and elusive pet stores nearby and buying a month's worth of litter, the litter box itself, cat-chow, and some squeaky toys. Of course, I had thought to buy them myself, but I was a bit lacking in the money department.

Kai, obviously, venomously refused the gifts and paid Max back in full for his gift. It hadn't really surprised any of us, since Kai had a problem with all types of affection, which included presents. It surprised me most when Kai didn't badger me about paying me back, but I accepted it. Maybe we were breaking down the very few weak, brittle walls we had between us.

Daichi got a bit aggravated when all three of us had given Kai some form of a gift and he didn't. He promised to buy Kai or Gabe the first thing they wanted, and Kai accepted, obviously in no mood to tell him not to bother. Chances were Daichi would forget the promises he made, like he always did.

Kai was completely absorbed in his new pet. He used his own comb to brush his delicate hairs before he realized it was too tough, and paid a visit back to the family-owned pet store to buy a few more necessities. I felt guilty and cheap for not buying at least a few trinkets myself, but Kai hadn't mentioned anything, so I assumed I was forgiven.

So that night when he walked into my room without knocking and an angry scowl on his face, I was a bit taken back.

"Kai?" I asked, confused.

"Five thousand dollars."

I gulped and a twinge on panic shot through my veins, but I remained physically the same on the outside. I obviously knew exactly what he was talking about, but I decided to play dumb. "Pardon?"

"How could you waste five thousand bucks on a _pure bred_ animal, Ray? I know you, you don't have that kind of money. How do you-"

"Well, obviously, it seems that I _do_ have that kind of money." I interrupted, offended and angered by his subtle accusation. I wasn't the wealthiest guy, but I got by. "I knew you would make a big deal out of nothing. Look, Kai-"

"Five thousand dollars isn't nothing!" He practically growled the words. "You're not the type to splurge, so in all probability you were saving that money on something specific. And then your god forsaken_ kindness_ took over"- he said it as if it was something I couldn't control-"and you blow all this money on me, the guy who uses that much on toilet paper."

I laughed at the last bit. His eyes narrowed.

"Kai," I sighed, sounding like a weary housewife. I sat down on my bed, and it creaked eerily. "I don't like arguing, especially with you. Can you just do me a favour? You can count this as my birthday present if you want. Can we just drop it?" His composure fell a little as he considered, and I took advantage of it. "Please?"

He sighed and he plunked himself down on my bed, sitting beside me. He covered his forehead with his hand, trying to sooth the fussy wrinkles that had formed. "Only you, Ray. You have this power. I don't know what it is."

I smiled at the Kai-Surrender. "Thank you,"

"I owe you."

I rolled my eyes. "What_ever_."

When the latter part of the word left my mouth sounding like a pouty teenage girl, Kai jerked his head up to look at me. I started laughing, and then he smiled at my uncharacteristic outburst.

"Only you, Ray." He repeated.

Something suddenly sprang to mind when I heard the familiar weariness of his voice. The same kind of tired I heard this morning, as his car keys audibly chinked into the hollow little bowl…. "Hey, Kai?" He nodded, a signal to continue. "Where'd you go this morning?"

A grimace pulled down the corners of his lips. "No where in particular," he dodged.

"Come on, I'm not Tyson. You can't pry me off that easily,"

He sighed, but looked at me like he was impressed. "No, I can't. You're too perceptive for that." He paused to yawn, then rubbed his near-teary eyes. "Look, I'm tired right now, okay? How about I tell you tomorrow morning?" If he had woken up before I had, he had a right to be tired.

I nodded, making a mental Post-It note and pressing it firmly on my frontal lobe. "Okay,"

I wouldn't forget.


	3. Chaos

**Author**: Neiize

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Beyblade or anything else that brings in a sufficient amount of money, for that matter. What I do own is the storyline and plot that go on in my story and the occasional OC, but that is all. I write for the sake of writing, and nothing more.

**Warning**: Language

**Author's Notes**: So, I was looking through my computer files in search of a random muse I had written a few nights ago, and then saw "The Colour of Water 3". Obviously my eyebrow cocked to my hairline because the grueling writer's block I had experienced while trying to write this left me without a word on the page, meaning no save.

So when I opened the file and found a whole damn chapter written out, I was more than surprised.

I time date on this was late August, which meant I had typed this out a while ago. Why I didn't post it, I don't know. Better late than never, right?

* * *

_I know you stay true when my world is false,  
Everything around's breaking down to chaos._

* * *

"Ow! You gave me whip lash on that one." Tyson groaned, rubbing his now swollen hand.

"That's what you get for playing the master," Daichi gloated, putting both of his hands on his hips in a superhero-like manner.

"Hey, master, you wanna sit down? You're blocking the T.V." Max complained, munching on Clodhoppers.

"I'll consider it, _pleasant_." He said snootily. His face then suddenly fell, realizing his mistake but trying to play it cool.

"What did you just say?" Max, asked, more amused than confused.

I was flipping channels while I spoke. "I think you meant _peasant_, Daichi."

"Tomato, Tohmato," he dismissed, sitting down beside the bowl of candy and stuffing a fistful into his unusually large mouth.

"Guuuuys," Tyson complained, trying to sooth his red hands. "It freaking hurts."

"Rule number one, dude. Never play Pita Bread with Daichi." Max shook his head in pity for Tyson. "His hands are small and fast. There's no way in hell you're gonna be able to smack those things." Max said, looking at Daichi's hands while he spoke.

"Maybe_ I_ should be the one with my hands on the bottom," Tyson grumbled.

The game in itself was a simple one, but difficult to actually do. If you've never heard of it, it's basically a two player game where one person puts out their hands, palms up, and the other places their hands on the other's, palms down. The object of the game is for the person on the bottom to smack the top person's hands before they can yank it away.

"It's itching now! Don't you wash your hands, monkey?"

This game was obviously not Tyson's forte.

"Stop being a sore loser, _Tyson_." Daichi stuck his tongue out at the aforementioned boy.

"Yeah, Ty. Shut up and watch Oprah."

"Oprah?" He asked with a cocked brow and he focused on the T.V. "Why are we watching Oprah?"

"There's nothing else on," I murmured softly. My throat had been aching recently, and made it tough to speak at a normal volume.

I stopped paying attention to the guys when my eyes wandered to the clock above the mantle of the fireplace. I frowned. Two days in a row, and Kai had been doing his infamous disappearing act. I looked out of a nearby window, watching the cars, getting ready for his sleek BMW to pull around the corner. No such thing happened.

Where was he?

"Hey, Ray?"

"Yes, Tyson?"

"Where's Kai?"

"…I don't know."

He frowned.

"Hey, wasn't he gone yesterday morning, too?" Max asked offhandedly, paying more attention to Oprah than he was to us.

"Yeah, he was. That's why I asked." He paused before adding, "Is he okay?"

"I'm sure he's fine," I lied conventionally.

"Why _wouldn't_ he be fine?"

"No reason. I was simply reassuring you, Tyson."

"But wait," Daichi continued, deep in thought. "Why a-"

"Let the woman speak." Max interrupted with a straight face, pointing towards the television.

* * *

A few hours later, I heared the front door creak open, and my dully Oprah-filled mind sprung sharply to life. I shot up from my position on the floor and darted into the living room, which is connected to the foyer.

I arrived at my destination, and quickly stopped to stare at Kai. I can see my fear and dismay reflected in his violet eyes when he stared back at me. The look on his face made the parental instinct that shot up my veins when one of us was miserable thick, and it flooded my system, choking out everything else. His shoulders were slumped and tired, and his eyes looked slightly glassy, like he was holding back…tears?

I attempted to swallow back my emotions as I spoke.

"Kai." My voice made it evident that swallowing back my emotions was a failed attempt. "What's wrong?"

He kept staring at me, but didn't really see me. He looked like he was… savoring his time, biding how long he could stretch the silence for. His eyes were still glassy and drawn back, like he had witnessed a murder and wasn't out of the shock of it yet.

My stomach churned unevenly causing shots of acid to sting my stomach, and my nerves.

"Kai!" I shouted. I flinched, feeling the raw burn in my already sore throat.

His eyes suddenly refocused when he heard the tremor in my voice. He blinked rapidly, and then ran a hand through his slate hair; what he usually did when he was nervous.

"Answer me!" I pleaded, desperation colouring my tone.

His eyes softened and crinkled in defeat. He opened his mouth once to speak, but hesitated and tried again.

"I'm leaving."

I stared at him, uncomprehending.

He caught my confusion and explained, sounding in pain. "I'm leaving the country, Ray. I'm going back to Russia. And I won't be coming back."

My eyes narrowed in frustration. From the look on his face, it was not hard to conclude that this was not a choice of Kai's free will. My tone came out suspicious. "Why?"

"He's retiring," he murmured with a tight edge, and I didn't need more explanation as to who this 'he' is.

"Already?" I asked, keeping my voice indifferent.

He nodded briskly. "My _mother_"-he snarled the word- "thinks it would be right if I spent the dismal months leading up to me gaining control on the Enterprises with the _family_."

"So that's why…" I trailed off. Kai stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue. "Is that why you were gone so early yesterday?"

He froze, a habit he had picked up from me when he was hesitant to do something. His facial features remained the same as before. "Yeah," he paused to phrase his words properly. "My dad called me on my cell phone at three in the morning. Big time difference between here and Russia. He said it was time to leave _now_, and I couldn't argue with him."

"I see."

He nodded. "I couldn't stand being in the house, and I couldn't go back to sleep. I just went out for a drive. A very long drive. And then I came back home."

"When are you leaving?" I asked, no longer sounding apathetic. I can feel the twist of worry and the abrupt presence of anger circle and stir in my stomach.

"A week."

"A week," I repeat.

He nods.

I stood there for a while, not even blinking. Then when I was able to absorb his words to a degree, I sighed. "Oh."

There was a slight pause before he spoke again. A glimmer of anger was easily detectable in his tone. "_Oh?_ Is that all you have to say?"

"What can I do, Kai? I'm not your family. I have no say in this."

He opened his mouth to argue, but then snapped his jaw shut audibly. I took the moment to speak calmly and rationally to Kai, which was a hard feat to do taking into account the situation at hand.

"I'm right, and you know it. What could we do? They're your parents, no matter how much that may appease you. You have a duty to fulfill as the only heir and kin of the long standing Hiwatari family."

"Fuck the Hiwatari family."

I frowned.

"I didn't ask for this," he grunted. "I didn't _want_ to be a Hiwatari."

I shook my head, before smiling a bit. "You can't choose your family."

Even lacking the sense of finality to them, the words seemingly ended the conversation.

A dismal silence filled the room as my thoughts started dipping into the lakes of depression. One tiny little phrase kept echoing my mind, but it seemed as though I had no real grasp on it. It seemed non-sensical, impossible, like the words weren't supposed to mend together so easily.

_Kai is leaving us._

"A month? That's it?" Daichi asked, stepping away from the wall he was hiding behind, looking upset. Shock was evident in my expression, but when I looked at Kai, I could tell he knew he was standing there the whole time.

"Yeah," Kai groans. He dug his hand into his hair, fisting it. "Max, Tyson. I know you're there. Stop hiding like idiots."

Despite Kai's command, there was no response or hint of movement from the usually obedient boys.

I sighed again, running my hands around my face, rubbing my closed eyes. Without looking, I walked a bit backwards and gently lowered myself onto the leather loveseat, as if adding more pressure would cause it to crumble to pieces. A few seconds later, Kai did the same with the sectional soda adjacent from me.

I wondered if Daichi moved as well, but couldn't bring myself to lift my neck to check. There were no words to describe how I felt. It was like the calm before the storm, the jump before the land, the swing before the slam.

The worst was yet to come.

"I have something to say," Max stated evenly. I was a bit surprised to see him standing there, like he had popped out of no where. I was even more shocked when he wore only a slightly forlorn expression as opposed to my completely miserable one. One of the few things Max and I were a dead match for were our display of emotions, and an obvious difference in them like this instance was not a good sign.

"So say it," Tyson retorted rudely, more angry than upset. I wondered why I hadn't notice him coming to sit on the seat beside me.

"I wasn't gonna go," he starts, sounding…confused? I couldn't tell. My mind was blank enough as it was, and was in no condition for detecting subtle emotions. "I was going to ask for another year. But since Kai's leaving…." He trailed off, and I was annoyed by it. What was he trying to say?

"No," Tyson whisper came out like a whip, hard and fast. We all looked at him, giving him our full attention as per usual. I became more frustrated when Tyson looked wide-eyed at Max, then said boy just nodded. I didn't understand the gesture.

"No!" He yelled, shooting up, causing Daichi and I to flinch at the sudden movement. "You can't! What the _fuck_ is this? Kai leaves, so you just decide to ditch, too?"

"I'm not leaving just because Kai's leaving!" Max snapped, equally angry.

"My ass you didn't! I hadn't heard a _word_ of this from you until Kai said he has to leave, and it's pretty damn obvious that Kai just heard of it, considering _Ray_ didn't know. What kind of friend are you, keeping big secrets like this from us?"

"I wasn't leaving, Tyson. It was my choice to leave whenever I wanted! I stayed for two more years than my mom wanted me to, and you're asking what kind of _friend_ I am? I left my family back halfway across the world for you guys!" Max shouted, almost out of breath.

"So why did you drop the bomb _now_?"

Tyson and Max continued shouting at each other, while I tried to piece together what was happening. A few words kept being repeated: leaving, secrets, family, friendship….

It all clicked.

And I couldn't have been more enraged.

"You_, too_?" I asked. My words came out as a bitten-back snarl.

Max and Tyson's bickering stopped in its tracks. Max looked at me, surprised by my abrupt change of emotion. When he didn't respond quickly, I opened my mouth to yell, when he raised his hand in the air as a sign of peace.

"Just hear me out!" He pleaded.

I bit down on my teeth, waiting for him to continue, as were the others.

"My mom asked me last year to leave and expand my dad's store full time," he said calmly. His shinning blue eyes swiftly scanned the room for something unbeknownst to me, and then continued. "You know, I could become an engineer! My mom said she would send me to school, and I could learn all about how to make not only beyblades, but computers and video games."

"And you guys know how good I am with the stupid trivia and the little details no one cares about; this is all little details. Putting together just the right, exact wires, the perfect drives and screws…. Anyways, I said no, 'cause I didn't wanna leave. Because… I didn't wanna be the _first_ one to leave. I want to become something, do anything great, that would make people know me! That would make me known for something more than a kid with a spinning top." He sighed lazily, closing his eyes, enjoying his dream.

When he opened them, it reminded me of the stress of the current situation. "But… with Kai being forced to go, maybe it's time for _me _to go it's time to make something of myself."

He paused, and looked each of us in the eye, one by one. "Maybe it's time to make a change."

There was a calm pause as we all absorbed the incredibly strong words coming from a rather childish boy. At least, I thought he was childish. Anyone who has it in them to want to make a difference in our substantially large world is far from childish.

I looked at his deep blue eyes, and was thankful that they were not staring back. You could read the emotion clearly: desire, greatness, fear, confusion, and joy.

"My dad asked me to come back home," Daichi confessed, breaking my thoughts. "I said no. I don't really wanna go back home. They wanna stick me in some kind of school. I didn't want any of that for a while, ya know? But now that I start thinking about it…. Well, anyways, if I tell my folks, then they won't let me _not_ leave. So, if you guys have other plans, too, then I'll go." He finished, looking at Tyson, then me.

"I really, really, really wanna be apart of that BBA Academy thing," Tyson said, his voice shining, a small smile he was trying to hide tugging at his lips. "It's like a dream come true. It pays great, and I don't need to go back and finish school. I'd be set for life."

"Mr. Dickinson said the contract was still up for grabs until the end of the year. To be honest, I didn't think I'd go for it… it's not like I would just up and ditch you guys! But now, everyone else is leaving. And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity." By now he had a full fledged smile on his face, his eyes fierce and shinning.

It abruptly sank when Tyson's eyes roamed to mine.

"But if Ray doesn't have any plans, me and him can still stay here," Tyson continued, trying to sound cheerful. "We'll be like Will and Grace! But, you know, one of us won't be a chick, and one of us won't be gay."

His sheepish smile and timid joke did not lighten the atmosphere as he had hoped. I smiled slightly at him (with some effort), and he smiled back.

"So, Ray?" Max asked.

Kai's eyes flashed to my face intently, the sheer violet of them standing out, waiting for my answer. I had almost forgotten he was there.

In all honesty, I had absolutely no where to go. This was my life, and I had expected it to be that way for at least two more years, as a mark to the end of my teenage life. It was shocking, really, how all these confessions and lusts for a new and better future were all caused by a simple force of fate that was pushed onto Kai's shoulder.

It was absolutely mind-blowing realizing that the people I called my closest friends had futures I could only dream of.

Universities. Academies. Presidencies.

Who was I to stop them?

"I've wanted to go back to the village for a while now," I lied, sounding incredibly convincing. "I miss my older ways of living, the simpler ways. I miss the elders, the communities, the outdoors, the primitiveness of it all." Every single thing that had left my mouth was exactly what I _hated_ about the village. "And, obviously, I miss Mariah and Lee and Kevin and Gary very much."

Of course, I did miss them to some degree, but I knew that little sliver of companionship I held for my native friends was nothing compared to the loyalty and love I had for my adoptive friends. For my true friends.

For my family.

And, that was the end of that. Daichi, Max, and Tyson were more hopeful for the future than they were lusting for the cheerful ordinariness of their present. Max and Tyson were brimming with joy for the possibilities they held, while Daichi brooded over the high school educational system. Although Max, Tyson, and even I teased him playfully for his brooding, I knew that one day Daichi would thank God himself for the bounty he blessed him with. For education.

And as I smiled cheerfully when my friends called their families and friends and school and airports and hotels, laughing, bubbling with joy, I felt the hostility and dread of my life being pulled out from under me starting to surface.

So when I sat down next to Kai and the saw the same thing threatening to take over me completely evident on his face, a chilling shot of fear ran down the back of my spine the same time a single thought occurred to me.

_What will I do?  


* * *

_Read _and_ Review, please.


End file.
